Mareike "Maiki" Borgstedt

2007-08 Inbound from Germany

Hometown: Hannover, Germany

Sponsor: Hannover-Leineschloss Rotary Club, District 1800, Germany

Host: Keystone Heights Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida, USA

School: Keystone Heights High School

Mareike's Bio

Hey! My name is Mareike Borgstedt (I go by Maiki) =)

I am from Germany, Hannover (Lower Saxony). I just turned into 17 a few weeks before my exchange year began. Now I live in Florida (Keystone Heights) since the 9th August 2007. Keystone is a pretty small town compared to Hannover, however I like being here a lot. My first host family "The Gibbs" is very nice and we live in a pretty house out of town in the woods. I have two host sisters, Morgan and Maranda (10 and 15). In Germany I have a sister called Anna-Lena she is 20 years old. She just moved over to Holland to study Horse Management in English. My parents in Germany are both teachers at the high school.

I had my culture shock the first two weeks, but now I enjoy living in Florida so much. After school I play Soccer and run Cross Country. Doing sport is so much pleasure for me and very important. At the weekend, mostly I spend the time with my new friends or just chill around ;). I also met the worst friend homesickness the first week... in the beginning it was a very strange feeling for me because I never had it that bad, however I learned to handle "it" and I really have to say the more I do the less I think about my home etc. The last weekend I bought a pretty dress for the homecoming dance. I am really excited about that and I am really looking forward to this day.

So keep smiling =), Maiki.

November 14 Journal

Hey! Now I am almost three months in Florida and a lot happened to me.

I think I better start from the beginning of my exchange. When I left Germany I was not sure how America, my host family, the school and the culture will be. Well I had some information from my sister Anna-Lena because she did an exchange in Texas three years ago and prepared me as well as she could for the USA (especially a culture shock) ;) . But I think besides some basic thinking everyone experiences another country in a different own way. So I was really excited about what is going on on the other side of the ocean.

So being at the airport with my family and my friends and finally thinking about what was coming towards me was such an overwhelming but great feeling at one time. My family and friends cried but I did not have time to think about leaving them at that moment. I had so many things to make sure, explain, and solve that my brain felt like it would have been exploding every minute my exchange year came nearer. Besides that I was worried about the weight of my two suitcases because I definitely packed too many clothes and things in them I do not need. *lol* So all in all it was stressful. When my mom asked me about my ticket my heart sank into my boots. I thought: "THINK THINK THINK CONCENTRATE! Where did you put it?" I flipped my backpack over and looked hectically for my ticket. Thanks God I found it. :) After that great experience I met Jonas and his family at the airport. We both seemed completely nervous just as much as our families were. Shortly after that we both had to hug our family and friends and go to the waiting room. I was so agitated.

Finally got in the airplane. Jonas and me were on our way to France (Paris), and Atlanta. Besides a few funny indirections we got safety to every airport. ;) Arrived in Atlanta, we both had to go to another airplane which took us to our cities. I really have to admit that I was nervous like a little child getting into school for the first day when I arrived at Jacksonville airport. 20 people waiting for me. No... they shouted at me "HELLO MAIKI"!!!!!!!!!!! My reaction: smile friendly, turn red, and no clue what to say. Maybe I thought something like "somebody there to help me get out of here?" They came to hug and welcome me warmly. But what to do if so many people ask you a hundred of questions about anything you can think of in the worst moment you can think of, because first: you are scared and do not understand everything. second: you have to translate everything first in German, than understand it right and finally give an answer in English. third: you are worried about talking crap or sound weird to them. --> Problem? --> No! --> Give them the Rotary smile and say "yes".

Well now I am doing pretty well and enjoy being here so much! Unfortunately my experiences with the first host family were not great and I really had problems to settle in because they were definitely not enough prepared for having me at their house. So sadly after a while there were circumstances I could not handle any longer, so my Youth Officer and me decided to take me out of this family and look for another one. Now I am living at a pretty lake in a very nice and funny family and Meggie the dog, who never gets tired of playing with her ball, in Keystone and I enjoy being with them a lot. I wish they could have been my first host family.

School is going great. I joined the Varsity Soccer team and the Senior girls club. The Soccer team already had 3 games where we did well. With the Senior girls club I am going to do volunteer social working for Keystone, collecting Teddybears for diseased children, preparing packets filled with toys, clothes, and material for school for children in poor countries, and many other things.

I also have been to a Gator game in Gainesville which was so much fun. I might become a football fan. Who knows!? Bis bald haut rein, Maiki.

December 28 Journal

5 months in Florida, 20 weeks in Keystone, thereof 150 days away from Hannover (6 hours behind the european time) that also means, I breathed 6749200 times since I am here. How am I feeling? I actually can't hardly tell because my feelings are comparable to a ride in a roller coaster: Up and down, good and bad, fast or slow. You just tried to get used to one of those thousand feelings, and wham... a flash goes through your whole body and you find yourself in a complete different mood.

Especially on Christmas it was just confusing. On the one hand I was really happy and totally surprised about so many nice presents my family gave me, and that even the aunts and uncles thought of me (I did not expect that). But on the other hand I also was wondering about what my family is doing. Are they already sitting in the church singing Silent Night (for the 150th time), is Mr. X already trying to read the Christmas story: "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.' "... etc. my dad mumbling to himself "Gosh he is such a bad reader", or is my family already eating dinner, Raclette, and talking about God and the World and that they were early for the service again, just like every Christmas, because my grandma is worried about not getting a seat. The problem is... we're not just a little early...we have to come an hour before. *lol*

I remember one Christmas, my parents decided not to wait that long in the cold, so without further ado my grandma grabbed her coat and left our house. I can still hear the door closing "very" loud. SHE was definitely not going to sit in the back of the church! Well we were "kind of late" and we didn't get good seats, but it didn't bother us. We were thankful that we didn't have to wait and freeze forever. (Grandma was still trying to get her hands warm...she chose a place next to the heater.)

Anyways, I don't regret not having been there, because my Christmas was way better than I expected it to be. On Christmas Eve my host sister Emily and me were allowed to open one present. Both of us got a new pajama pants that was considered to let you sleep very well. And it did. On Christmas day I woke up early, excited about what is happening that day. Right after Emily woke up all three of us, my host mom Sandra, Emily, and me, handed out our presents and started to open them. But one thing is different. At home (Germany) everybody opens his/her presents at the same time. But here, you follow the I call it "opening-line". One person opens one present, and then the next one starts, and the next follows, and then the next etc. I think the point is to see what the others get and I think this is really smart. ^^

After that, we went to my "host aunt's" and had lunch. A big lunch. I definitely ate way too much, but it was good food :) Though I'm going to burst . I started my diet right after the 26th. Will see if it works. Now I'm just really curious about the new-years eve party and I'm definitely not looking forward to go to school again... I could have three more weeks of vacation. ;)